Waitrose keep sending me chicken thighs. This is not some altruistic move on their part – they are not suddenly overcome by thoughts of my welfare and wishing to feed me up, neither is it one of those lovely PR treats that bloggers get sent (I got sent a chocolate fountain and a box of coco-pops squares once by a lovely man at Kelloggs, and some fancy tea – sadly I had nothing to say about either thing and forgot about them. I kept meaning to ebay the chocolate fountain, and then I dropped it on the way to storing it above a cupboard). No, nothing as exciting as this. Simply, it’s what happens when the person doing your shopping in store in preparation for home delivery notices that your chosen cut of poultry or game is out of stock and doesn’t have the imagination to replace with something else. This has happened three weeks in a row now, a kilo of thighs each time. I’ll be doing my own shopping next week.

Anyway, I’ve started to run out of ideas and enthusiasm for these things. Let me introduce you to recipe 29#, which was actually very nice. Feel free to vary the stuffing – if you don’t like any of the ingredients, you can simply omit them. On a better day, I would have made a tomato, wine and garlic sauce to braise these in (it wasn’t a good day. At All.) and I think they would be nicest served with sauté potatoes or a simple risotto.

4 skin on chicken thighs, either boneless or you will need to remove the bone yourself. This is an easy enough job, and it will give you a sense of achievement to do it , but it does need a small sharp knife. This is a great little clip to show you how.

4 slices parma ham

1 ball italian mozzarella, sliced

pitted black olives – 8, slice in half

pesto. A jar will do or 100g from a deli or make your own

sprinkle of parmesan (optional)

toothpicks or string to hold thighs together

Firstly, you will need to flatten your thighs. Get a meat mallet or rolling-pin and some good clingfilm. Put the thigh on a chopping board, skin side up and cover with the film. Then bash, firmly and consistently until the thigh is flat and longer/wider. Turn the thigh upside down so the flesh side is facing you and pile on the ingredients in the following order: Pesto, approx two teaspoons, spread all over the thigh, parma ham, mozzarella slices, olive halves and a sprinkle of parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

Now, roll your chicken up, like a swiss roll. Try and keep some tension in the flesh if you can, to stop the ingredients going everywhere and to ensure a fairly tightly rolled thigh. Inevitably some of the stuffing will attempt to escape, and inevitably you will need to stop mid-course and regather something, but it is not a highly technical operation. Secure with toothpick or string, or in my shameful case, a wooden skewer and stuff any bits that have fallen out, back in. When you’ve done all four, put them in a suitable roasting tin and either pop them in the fridge if you’re cooking in advance, or alternatively preheat your oven to gas 6.

Cook for approximately 30- 35 minutes. There will be a lovely gravy in the pan, which you should pour on top of the thighs when you serve them.